Journey
by 16FangsofWrath
Summary: After pushing Tifa to her breaking point, Cloud sets off to finally face down the journey that made him a hero and all of the memories it holds. Hoping to find himself he finds someone else instead and together they face Cloud's demons once and for all.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So thanks to Niamh13 I have a new couple to obsess over and you guys have a new fic to read, if you're interested. Please be interested! Anyway this is a Clouffie fic R&r and let me know what you think. Also, each chapter will have a song in it, not sure if that makes this a songfic or not, but each one captures the feel of the chapter to me. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7(squareenix) or Dear Agony by Breaking Benjamin, sad day **

**Timeframe: Two years after the events of Advent Children**

**Journey**

**Chapter One- Agony**

_**I have nothing left to give**_

_**I have found the perfect end**_

_**You were made to make it hurt**_

_**Disappear into the dirt**_

"Cloud, this isn't working."

Cloud glanced up from the couch where he'd been lying. Ever since he had regained his strength while facing Sephiroth once again, Cloud had had very little time for resting. The world was still in chaos, he was needed to help put things right. Unfortunately, this meant he was almost never home, putting intense strain on his relationship with Tifa and their adopted son Denzel.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm **sick** of this Cloud! You're never here, ever! Denzel and I know that people need you, Cloud, we know, but **we** need you too."

"Tifa, I-"

"No. No more excuses. Maybe you haven't noticed Cloud, but even now, even after you've forgiven yourself for her death, we still don't have you. Why is it that we still lose out? We need you here, Cloud. Come home to stay, please?" Tifa begged, tears standing in the corners of her eyes.

"Tifa, you know I want to be here, more than anything I want to be here with you and Denzel."

"Then stay Cloud, stay and be a family with us like you promised."

"I-I can't Tifa. I want to, but I can't. People out there need me, just like you said. I have to help, I have to-"

"GO THEN YOU BASTARD! GO AND DON'T YOU EVER COME BACK!"

Tears falling freely now, Tifa stormed from the room. Cloud stood frozen in shock. His mind, unable to comprehend what had just happened, reeled back and forth, desperately trying to find some other meaning hidden in her words. He found none.

_**Carry me to heaven's arms**_

_**Light the way and let me go**_

_**Take the time to take my breath**_

_**I will end where I began**_

_**And I will find the enemy within**_

'_**Cause I can feel it crawl beneath my skin**_

_**Dear agony, just let go of me**_

_**Suffer slowly, is this the way it's gotta be, dear agony?**_

Two hours later, with his meager belongings stuffed into Fenrir's saddlebags he glanced up at Denzel's window as he sat astride the bike. Denzel was standing in the window with Tifa and in contrast to her tears, he wore a cold hard look, a look a ten-year-old shouldn't have to wear.

Cloud could feel the child's anger from where he sat, it was unnerving how he had driven his family to this point. Cloud swung his leg back over the bike; his intent to go back inside and make thing right again clear on his face. However, together Denzel and Tifa shook their heads and Cloud knew that there was no going back, they didn't want him anymore. He nodded his understanding, remounted Fenrir, and drove off into the night.

_**Suddenly the lights go out**_

_**Let forever drag me down**_

_**I will fight for one last breath**_

_**I will fight until the end **_

As Cloud sped away, Tifa's tears became too much for her to bear. She reached for the phone, reached out to call her greatest source of comfort when Cloud was away, and now that Cloud had gone for good, she could tell him everything. The phone only rang twice before it was picked up:

"Tifa, what is it honey?"

"R-R-Reeve, I need to see you…" her voice broke like brittle glass.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"He's gone Reeve, Cloud's gone." Her voice was once again steady and calm, belying her inner turmoil.

"I'm on my way, just hold on."

Thirty minutes later, a sleek black car pulled into the driveway of Tifa's 7th Heaven. Reeve walked inside and Tifa told him everything.

_**And I will find the enemy within**_

'_**Cause I can feel it crawl beneath my skin**_

_**Dear agony, just let go of me**_

_**Suffer slowly, is this the way it's gotta be?**_

_**Don't bury me, faceless enemy**_

_**I'm so sorry, is the way it's gotta be, dear agony?**_

Cloud slammed his sword into the dirt on the cliff top where Zack had died. His new sword that is, he'd already removed the Buster Sword. The new blade would mark this place now; Cloud needed the familiar weapon's strength. He traded the new for the old, a fitting end to his new life; the reclamation of his old one. Cloud spent the rest of the night in front of his campfire, cleaning the rust from the battle scarred blade and honing it to razor sharpness with the whetstone Yuffie had given him for Christmas two years ago.

_**Leave me alone, God let me go**_

_**All blue and cold, black sky will burn**_

_**Love, pull me down, hate lift me up**_

_**Just turn around, there's nothing left**_

When the sun rose, Cloud had made his decision. He would retrace the steps of that journey they had made so long ago. He would go to the familiar places, to see and remember and (hopefully) to find himself once more. His first stop was Kalm, where four years ago, the new members of AVALANCHE had decided to stop the evil machinations of a madman, the place where lies and truth had mingled for the first time among them as he told his story. There his journey would truly begin.

_**Somewhere far beyond this world**_

_**I feel nothing anymore **_

_**Dear agony, just let go of me**_

_**Suffer slowly, is this the way it's gotta be?**_

_**Don't bury me, faceless enemy**_

_**I'm so sorry, is the way it's gotta be, dear agony?**_

Tired in both body and mind, Cloud climbed aboard Fenrir and drove off towards the rising sun, ready to face his past and his future. He wouldn't bow to them anymore, and they would never break him again.

_**I feel nothing anymore…**_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So yeah second chapter, hope you like it! Also be forewarned, it's very Cloud-centric. Don't worry there will be plenty of Yuffie to come, so far the third chapter is all from her perspective. Anyway I won't keep you any longer…. R&R please!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of Squareenix's characters; I do however own the song The Inner Struggle for I wrote it myself****.**

_**I am!**_

_**I am all alone…**_

_**I'm tryin'!**_

_**Tryin' to stand on my own…**_

_**There's no way!**_

_**No way left to hide…**_

_**The demon!**_

_**The demon that's inside…**_

The sun was just beginning to set as Kalm came into view. Cloud let out a weary sigh. After a night of no sleep and nearly a full day of travel, he was exhausted.

Maybe it was because of his exhaustion that he didn't notice four of Shinra's leftover mechanical monstrosities until they were upon him. Missiles slammed into the ground in front of Fenrir, causing Cloud to brake sharply almost flinging himself over the bike's front wheel. He had no time to recover before a half-ton of steel rocketed into Fenrir, throwing him to the ground.

Cloud's exhaustion melted away in the heat of his anger. Picking himself up he quickly unslung his sword from its place over his shoulder and charged, dodging more missiles as the other mechs moved in to surround him. The razor edge of the Buster Sword cut through the plate steel of the mech's body like it was butter and Cloud was showered in oil as it burst forth from the destroyed machine. Gun fire erupted from the other three mechs but years of wandering the wilds had honed Cloud's reflexes to lightning speeds and he ducked, dodged, and rolled away from the hail of bullets.

Summoning his inner strength, Cloud stood from his cover and swung his blade in a downward arch unleashing his Blade Beam. As his foes crumpled, weariness set in once more and Cloud barely found the strength to climb back aboard Fenrir.

It was night when he rode into Kalm, its streets now devoid of its normally bustling crowds. Cloud left his bike in front of the Kalm Inn and walked inside. He asked for the room that he and the other's had shared so long ago.

The room hadn't changed, so the moment Cloud stepped inside he could feel the memories begin to come flooding back. Here he had told the lies and truths that had sent them across the world searching for a way to stop Sephiroth. Such small things, his confused memories mixed in with those he had of Zack and a little self-deception, yet powerful enough to evoke the need and determination they had all felt within them.

Cloud let the memories roll over him as he took a shower and prepared for bed. As he lay stretched out on the comfortable mattress though, he realized that he wasn't going to be able to stay here, not for long. He had too much to do, and there were too many painful memories here for him to contend with. It was nearly midnight before sleep finally claimed him.

The next morning Cloud dressed quickly, paid his bill and bought breakfast to eat on the road. A few hours outside of Kalm was Chocobo Bill's Ranch. As Fenrir's distinct roar reached the fences, Durin and Dunin, Cloud's black and gold chocobos, ran forward warking excitedly.

_**There's no way to disguise**_

_**And nowhere left to hide**_

_**The tiny place inside**_

_**Where I keep my broken wings**_

_**I'm tired of running in place**_

_**I can't keep up with your pace**_

_**I'm waiting to be found**_

_**But you're no longer around**_

_**To help me up off the ground!**_

Cloud spent the next few days here, where he felt at peace, chatting with Choco Bill and his family and reminiscing about the fun the group had had at the ranch. In particular, Cloud remembered Aerith, Tifa and himself laughing as Barret tried and failed to mount his first chocobo.

Yet even this happy time had to end though, and Cloud departed once more, heading for the cave that would take him to Fort Condor. As he navigated the safe paths along the swampy ground he remembered his battle with the giant serpent that once had lived here, the Golom, and his party's discovery of Sephiroth's brutal slaying of its mate.

The caves themselves had been changed after the deaths of the Goloms, now they were little more than an underground tunnel bridging Edge City and Fort Condor.

"_Memories,"_ he thought _"are a curse."_

_**I'll deny!**_

_**Deny the truth in my lies…**_

_**And I'll fight!**_

_**I'll fight my demons inside…**_

'_**Cause there's no way!**_

_**No way for me to hide…**_

_**The angel!**_

_**The angel that's inside**_

An hour later he drove out of the other side of the tunnel and saw Fort Condor in the distance. He gunned Fenrir's engine and took off, eager to see how the Fort's people were doing and if the young condor had returned. He also felt the need to walk the old battlegrounds where the people of the Fort had held off the Shinra army, not once but twice.

"_With a little help from Cloud and company of course."_ He thought proudly.

There was always work at Fort Condor, it was now a growing community and every last one of them knew who he was. However, they treated like they would everyone else, not like some half-mythical hero. Cloud liked life at the Fort; he could lose himself in the physical work of putting up houses and working in the communal kitchens. He also frequently recounted the battles in the form of thrilling tales for the younger children who, the last time Cloud had visited, were too small to remember the fighting.

_**There's no way to disguise **_

_**And nowhere left to hide**_

_**The tiny place inside **_

_**Where I keep my broken wings**_

_**I'm tired of running in place**_

_**I can't keep up with your pace**_

_**I keep waiting to be found**_

_**But you're no longer around**_

_**To lift me up off the ground**_

After the first few days though, Cloud could feel the pain he'd been running from begin to build again. He became more reclusive and began walking the old battlefields, looking over the scars on the mountainside from traps and bombs and ambushes. As he walked he could hear the screams of the wounded and dying, he could see their ghosts forever trapped in battle and was reminded of the terrible cost of these all too necessary battles. In his mind's eye, he watched as the great condor fell, giving its life so that its offspring might live.

Cloud left the Fort after a week, despite numerous invitations to stay. He needed to keep moving, but he did promise to comeback and visit the children again as soon as he could.

_**I am!**_

_**I am all alone…**_

_**I'm tryin'!**_

_**Tryin' to fly on my own…**_

_**Now it's time!**_

_**Time for one last shot…**_

_**And my pain!**_

_**My pain is all I've got…**_

Cloud rode away from the Fort with a heavy heart and headed West toward Junon Forest; he knew of a clearing there where he could camp. It was also a place he needed to visit again, the place where his "favorite shinobi" had forced her way onto the team in order to steal their materia. She'd quickly become a powerful ally, despite her thieving tendencies.

As Cloud entered the forest near the clearing, he heard a scream echo through the tree tops…


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay so this one is all from Yuffie's point of view and Cloud goes from whiney angst muffin to the badass we all know and love. Also it's gonna get a little graphically violent here and there's a little sexual content so if these thing offend you I'm sorry. Enjoy! Oh and please R&R!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of Squareenix's characters or places nor do I own Blow me away by Breaking Benjamin**

**Chapter 3**

_**They form a line,  
One at a time,  
Ready to play,  
(I can't see them anyway)  
No time to lose,  
We've got to move,  
Steady the helm.  
(I am losing sight again)**_

Yuffie and her team moved like shadows through Junon Forest. The bandits had evaded her for weeks so she'd gone back to Junon to hire some help. They were good, her team, with their help she had quickly picked up the bandits' movements and now they were closing in on their campsite.

Yuffie smirked. She enjoyed life as a bounty hunter, especially when compared to being the Wutaian princess. She had abdicated in favor of an older cousin after the first six months. Her father had been furious.

As the light from her marks' campfire came into view, Yuffie signaled to her team and then steeped from cover and strode boldly into the bandit camp. A few looked up at her entrance, some of them smirked, none of them looked surprised to see her standing in their midst.

"_Something's wrong..."_

Then everything went black as a heavy cloth went over her head. She felt a sharp pain in the back of her skull and then oblivion took her.

When Yuffie awoke, everything was still dark and she had no idea of how much time had passed. She heard voices nearby and tired to listen in as her head began to pound.

"…stupid girl just walked right up and hired us in the market square, no questions asked!" a voice said laughing.

"Pretty little thing, too bad we'll have to kill her."

She never had a chance did she? Never figured on facing twelve former members of SOLDIER, eh?"

Yuffie then realized why the bandits had never been caught and why "her" team had found them so quickly; Shinra trained their army well and members of SOLDIER, even Third Class, were the best of the best. Yuffie cried out as the air was suddenly blasted from her lungs by a vicious kick.

"Look boys, she's awake!"

The cloth sack was ripped from her head and she stared defiantly through her pain at her captors. The one who had taken the sack off placed his rough, dirty hand on her cheek.

"Like I said, it's a shame we have to kill one so prett-arrgh!"

_**Fire your guns,  
It's time to roll,  
Blow me away,  
(I will stay in the mess I made)  
After the fall,  
We'll shake it off,  
Show me the way**_

Yuffie had turned her head and bitten down on the man's fingers. She bit hard tasting blood and the man's companions came forward quickly and began kicking and pummeling her until she let go.

"You stupid little BITCH! I'M GOING TO GUT YOU LIKE A FISH!" The man she had bitten screamed, drawing a long serrated knife.

"Wait. Let me have a little fun first." Another of the bandits stepped forward, a cruel gleam in his eyes. The others looked on in anticipation. Only when the man unbuckled his belt did Yuffie understand what he meant by "fun". Even though she knew she wouldn't get far, she tried to struggle to her feet, to run, but she was merely knocked back down into the dirt. She couldn't help it, Yuffie screamed, in rage and frustration and fear.

"Go ahead, scream little girl. There's no one around for miles. My friend is gonna have his fun then you're gonna die and there's nothing ANYONE can do to st-"

The man's tirade cut off abruptly in a gurgling, liquid sound. All eyes in the clearing turned towards the man and took in his surprise as he gazed at the two feet of steel standing out from his chest. The would-be murderer sighed and sighed and came apart like a ragdoll.

_**Only the strongest will survive,  
Lead me to heaven when we die,  
I am a shadow on the wall,  
I'll be the one to save us all.**___

A tall figure stepped over the gore and into the light, his glowing blue gaze as hard as diamonds as he surveyed the scene before him. Yuffie instantly recognized her rescuer and thanked her lucky stars while wondering what the hell he was doing here.

"If you leave now, I'll forget I ever saw you; the exception being you." Cloud said pointing at the man who still had his belt and pants undone, his voice as cold as ice.

"Fuck you." A smirking warrior came forward, drawing his sword, the man's own mako infused eyes glowing a sinister green in the dark. The rest of the squad followed suit, either brandishing weapons or preparing to use materia. Cloud shrugged and tightened his grip on his sword.

"I gave you your chance to run."

The men charged, opening fire or swinging weapons with various degrees of skill. Blocking a sword thrust, Cloud kicked the weapon from a gunman's hands while pushing the swordsman off balance. Cloud then swung his Buster Sword once, just once splitting the swordsman from head to groin. Dodging attacks from tow spear-wielders, Cloud danced back to the gunman, kicked him in the gut and then dodged out of the way as the spearmen skewered their own comrade. They didn't last much longer; one was dead before he could free his weapon, the other was sliced cleanly in half after a foolish charge, his severed arteries gushing.

_**There's nothing left,  
So save your breath,  
Lying in wait.  
(Caught inside this tidal wave)  
Your cover's blown,  
Nowhere to go,  
Holding your fate.  
(Loaded I will walk alone)**_

The other six were much more cautious now, circling Cloud. The two remaining gunmen opened fire side by side, hoping to catch Cloud in the wide bursts, but he moved, far too fast to follow and there was a sudden screeching metallic sound as Cloud's blade sliced cleanly through both guns and their wielders.

One of the remaining bandits tried to flee, but a yellow light flashed from one of the sockets on Cloud's bracer as Cloud called out the word "Beta". A rotating vortex of heat slammed down on the man, cooking him in his own skin.

While Cloud was distracted, three green flashes went off behind him, but before Yuffie could call out the Fire, Ice and Bolt spells crashed down upon him, raising a mammoth cloud of dust. One of the three sighed in relief.

_**Fire your guns,  
It's time to roll,  
Blow me away,  
(I will stay in the mess i made)  
After the fall,  
We'll shake it off,  
Show me the way.**_

"Dear God! We finally stopped him. He was a fucking monster…."

The bandit trailed off as Cloud walked out of the dust, slightly singed and with ice crystals clinging to his clothing, but otherwise unharmed.

_**Only the strongest will survive,  
Lead me to heaven when we die,  
I am a shadow on the wall,  
I'll be the one to save us all.  
**_  
_**Wanted it back  
(Don't fight, back off!)**_

"No way!"

"Oh shit!"

"RUN!"

Cloud cut them down like a blade scything through grain. When he looked at his final opponent, his eyes tightened in anger. The man held Yuffie up, a gun pressed to her temple. Cloud shifted, ready to charge but stopped as the man cocked the hammer.

_**Only the strongest will survive,  
Lead me to heaven when we die,  
I am a shadow on the wall,  
I'll be the one to save us all.**_

"Tch, tch, tch. If you as much as _think_ about attacking, I'll splatter her pretty little head all over the ground. Now put that big ass blade on the ground and back away slowly."

Cloud complied, backing away from his Buster Sword, as he did so he subtly palmed the serrated knife one of the bandits had dropped as he fell... All he had to do now was wait.

"Alright then," the man said to Yuffie, confidant that he had the situation in hand, "where were we?"

The hand that wasn't occupied by the gun snaked up Yuffie's waist to cup her breast, Cloud didn't wait another second, he hurled the knife with all his might. The former SOLDIER's mako enhanced eyes didn't see the throw, but they did manage to glimpse the tip of the blade just as it buried itself in his forehead. The bandit was dead before he hit the ground.

_**Save us all!**_

Yuffie was stock-still as she watched Cloud stand and walk towards her, concern written across his face. She saw his lips moving but couldn't hear what he was saying. Yuffie felt herself falling sideways, but before she hit the ground, oblivion claimed her.

Yuffie woke but kept her eyes closed. She had just had the most wonderful dream about flying and she was trying to recapture the feeling. It was then she realized she was moving. Opening her eyes she found herself wrapped in a blanket, cradled in Cloud's right arm as he drove Fenrir, slowly, left-handed. She shifted slightly and Cloud looked down.

"Hey, how're you feeling?"

I'm okay, I guess, you know considering…" Yuffie shuddered remembering the cause of his concern.

Cloud pulled Fenrir off the road and onto the shoulder and started a fire. He wasn't much of a cook but the supplies from Fort Condor were easy to make. Over their meal Yuffie and Cloud swapped stories about why they were traveling; Cloud shaking his head at the thought of Yuffie as a bounty hunter and Yuffie nearly killing him with a sympathetic hug after he recounted Tifa's last words to him.

"So where are we anyway?"

"About a week out from Junon. I'm headed there to catch a ship to Costa del Sol."

"Aw, no fair! You're gonna go to the best vacation spot in all of Gaia, where you have a massive house by the way, and not invite me?"

"Well, if you really wanna go…"

Letting out a wild shriek, Yuffie nearly broke his ribs with her celebration hug. The night however, stole her excitement. She woke from nightmares about the clearing and what would have happened if Cloud hadn't shown up when he did. Her screams woke Cloud who held her and did his best to comfort her, whispering "Everything's alright Yuffie, I'm right here, it's alright."

The nightmares continued every night until they reached Junon. Yuffie felt terrible about keeping Cloud awake until the small hours of the morning, but he just waved it off, smiled and told her he was fine.

Their stay in Junon was short, just long enough to visit Priscilla, the young girl Cloud had rescued four years ago and to book passage and storage space for themselves and Fenrir. When it came time to board the ship Cloud handed her a small box of pills labeled "Tranquilizers" with a grin plastered to his face.

"I know how your stomach gets."


End file.
